At a time when strongmen threaten the world, global leadership ”“ or lack thereof ”“ has never been more important. Equally trending is the rise of women ”“ in colleges, professional schools and C-suite positions.
Yet another trend is the ever-elusive work-life balance, which women have of necessity had to strike as they multitask challenges at home and in the office.
The role of women leaders, never more crucial than today, is the subject of a Tuesday, Jan. 24, “Women in Power” conference at Manhattanville College in Purchase, presented by Citrin Cooperman and Westfair Communications Inc.”™s Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals.
Chelsea Rosen ”“ an audit partner at White Plains-based Citrin Cooperman, one of the nation”™s leading professional services firms ”“ will moderate a panel that features Cynthia R. “Cindi” Bigelow, president and CEO of Bigelow Tea in Fairfield; Susan Fox, president and CEO of White Plains Hospital; and Sally A. Paull, executive vice president of human resources at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
Cindi Bigelow heads a third-generation, family-owned business that is the U.S. market leader of specialty teas and maker of Constant Comment tea, producing more than two billion tea bags annually. Before assuming this key role in 2005, Bigelow spent nearly 20 years in all areas of a company that her grandmother, Ruth Campbell Bigelow, founded in 1945. As she selects teas and botanicals for Bigelow blends around the world ”“ on Indian, Sri Lankan and Chinese tea estates; in Italian bergamot orchards; and on West Coast farms ”“ and keeps an eye on production in Fairfield, Kentucky and Idaho, Bigelow is also conscious of the company”™s role in society. She has championed sustainable practices throughout the organization, with Bigelow becoming a Certified B Corporation in 2019 and a Green-e Certified company a year later. She initiated the annual Bigelow Tea Community Challenge in 1988, which has donated more than $2 million to 23 local charities since its inception, and Bigelow”™s Tea for the Troops Project, which has donated more than 8.5 million tea bags to the U.S. armed forces.
Bigelow holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College, an MBA from Northwestern University”™s Kellogg School of Management, honorary doctorates from Fairfield University, the University of New Haven and Johnson & Wales University, and an honorary associate degree from Housatonic Community College. She counts drinking lots and lots of tea among passions that include skiing, tennis, taking long walks and being with her children and friends.
Susan Fox has been at the forefront of the health-care industry transformation regionally, driving the expansion of White Plains Hospital to make it a leading provider in the Hudson Valley.”¯
She first joined the hospital”™s team in 2010 as senior vice president of administration, bringing with her more than 25 years of experience in health management administration. In 2011, she was named executive vice president and then president in January 2013. Susan assumed the position of CEO of White Plains Hospital on May 1, 2015.
Prior to White Plains Hospital, Fox was a senior vice president at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, developing and overseeing physician and ambulatory network services, and a senior manager of health-care consulting at Ernst and Young, where she specialized in strategy and hospital reengineering.”¯”¯
But Fox”™s knowledge of health care extends beyond its administrative side. She began her career as a pediatric intensive care nurse at New York Hospital in Manhattan and received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Columbia University. She also holds an MBS from Baruch College, Mount Sinai School of Medicine (now the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai)
Susan serves as the chairperson of the Westchester County Association and a member on the Columbia University School of Nursing board of visitors, and the board of the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS). She is a former chair of the American Hospital Association (AHA) ”“ Regional Policy Board 2 and an AHA board of trustees member. She has been named to City & State”™s “Westchester Power 100” list multiple times and is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.
Sally Paull, who joined Regeneron in 2016, has more than 20 years of experience in human resources executive leadership roles in the life sciences, health care and biopharma industries.,
Previously, she was with Inova Health System, where she built and led HR programs as executive vice president and chief human resources officer. She served as senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Forest Laboratories, a mid-size pharmaceutical company, where she led the global HR function. Earlier in her career, Sally served in progressively senior HR roles at Dentsply International, a global leader in the development and commercialization of professional dental products.”¯
Paull received her Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of International Relations degree from the University of Delaware. Following
20-plus years on active duty and in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Paull retired, having achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel.”¯
She is chair of the board of directors of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children”¯(ICMEC), a global nonprofit that combats child sexual exploitation, abuse and the risk of going missing.
“Women in Power” takes place from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24, at Manhattanville College, 2900 Purchase St. in Purchase. For more, contact Anne Jordan Duffy at anne@westfairinc.com or 914-358-0764.
